Scaloni and the day after the wink with the Argentine national team: his program for 2024 and what the friendlies would be before the Copa América

When the walls of Maracana Stadium resounded last November with the declarations of Lionel Scaloni, he told himself, there was nothing final or definitive. It has been compared to that famous request for “time” that a couple can take to refocus on their mutual goals. The calendar burned for days, weeks and months until, last week, the world champion coach and president of the AFA, Claudio Chiqui Tapiathey met hand in hand to agree on the best points that had been put on the table.

This Wednesday, the words of the 45-year-old coach from Santa Fe were only the confirmation of those small advances which also included his presence in the draw of the most important tournament on the continent, which this year will be played with a format similar to that of the Centenary, together to Concacaf teams.

The talks between Chiqui and Scaloni had already made this certain The Argentina national team will return to China in the March FIFA window, as he did on his first tour with the third star embroidered on the shield near the heart. It was not possible to find strong European rivals as the “Gringo” had asked for, but As in every negotiation, an intermediate point has been reached.: The first opponent will be the local team and the second will be defined in the next few hours between Croatia – third in Qatar 2022 -, Turkey, the Czech Republic or Hungary, against which Lionel Messi had a frustrated debut in 2005.

On that trip to Asia in 2023, the national team faced Australia in Beijing and Indonesia in Jakarta. They beat both teams 2-0, but beyond football, it created a revolution, to the point that concentration overflowed in China. In the hotels where the Argentine team stayed, guests walked the corridors “hunting” for the players to take a photo.

This situation did not please Lionel Scaloni. In fact, it was one of the problems that the technician asked to check and this is part of the flash that exploded when the Argentine coach declared that he had to think about what to do in the immediate future, in the press conference held after the victory against Brazil in Marcaná, for the South American qualifiers, in November.

But all this was left behind. And to the certainties that Scaloni provided in his interview with an Italian television channel, those on the pre-Copa América friendlies have been added in the last few hours, just the week before the debut in the imposing Mercedes Benz Arena in Atlanta, on 20 June, against Canada OR Trinidad and Tobagowho will win the play-off which will be played on the FIFA date in March.

They say that to win in a negotiation at a certain point you also have to give in, and if the trip to China is the opportunity to prepare better in view of the Copa América, the central objective of 2024, perhaps there is also a balance in favor.

Because the Argentine national team, with Lionel Messi, will visit two cities that will not host either the continental tournament or the 2026 World Cup: between 3 and 11 June, which is the FIFA window, it will appear at the Chicago Soldier’s Camp and the FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.

In the ‘Windy City’, according to information published by the American site Atleticothe rival would be an old acquaintance Ecuadorwho he defeated last September at the Monumental Stadium thanks to a splendid free kick taken by the Rosario captain.

For the second game, the opponent still needs to coordinate but would come out in the middle Guatemala -who did not qualify for the competition- e Honduras -who at that point will already know if they have beaten Costa Rica in the playoffs or will have to watch the Copa América on television-.

Every meeting of the Albiceleste will be a test for everyone. Just like Scaloni said, it was a moment of reflection, a space to refocus. That moment has arrived: it will start in China, in March; will continue in the US in June and hopefully conclude with a full celebration on July 14th at the Hard Rock in Miami, the new promised land by Lionel Messi.